Saturday, May 16, 2015

The Art of Awareness: Autism



Lori Anderson is back doing what she does so brilliantly,  hosting a blog party.  This time she partnered with Heather Wynn Millican of Swoondimples.  Heather created polymer clay bean beads with inspirational words of our choice in the color of our choice each with an awareness ribbon. As soon as I saw Lori's post about this hop, I signed up. What an amazing collaboration between art, artisans and awareness organizations. 

I chose Autism.  I think Autism is an issue that touches everyone; the degree of separation just varies.  Do you have a friend of a friend, a friend, a family member who lives with the effects of Autism?  I resist labels, but my family is also touched by Autism. Autism is a difficult subject because the cause is unknown and the results vary from person to person.  Patience, Kindness and Acceptance are key while the research is ongoing.




I chose the words,"be you" for my bean bead; a reminder to shine bright regardless of difficulties. Heather made me a fantastic royal blue, red and yellow bead.  It is perfect for the primary color palette associated with Autism. From the outset, I knew I wanted to incorporate some plaid.  When I see plaid, I think of boy's and men's shirts.  In fact, I upcycled one of my sons outgrown shirts to add a few pieces. Since more boys are affected with Autism, I wanted to use the plaid as a subtle symbol.  I also knew from the beginning that I wanted to use this wonderful enameled key from Marie Demicco; a key to Autism is kindness, patience, understanding and acceptance. I also knew that I wanted to integrate one of the rings from Pam Ferrari.  When I laid the necklace out, I decided to use all three rings as a symbol of the puzzle pieces representing the complexity of Autism.  This necklace, "The Heart Shines Through", is beaded with a rainbow of faceted seed beads representing the diversity of Autism, red Czech starburst beads representing the hope of research, and a blue Czech bird representing the individual caregivers...the wind beneath the wings. I finished the necklace with chunky red glass nuggets and a vintage red glass button. It is available for purchase at my etsy store. 







This is not a color palette that I typically work with and it was fun for a change.  Thank you Heather Wynn Millican for inspiring me to work outside of the comfort zone and for the opportunity to bring awareness to Autism. Thank you Lori Anderson for hosting this wonderful blog hop.  You are amazing!  Check out Lori's blog, www.prettythingsblog.com to hop along, see the other reveals and the stories behind them.

33 comments:

Unknown said...

Lovely and colorful piece. I have a couple of friends with children that have Autism and thank you for adding awareness to it.

Tammy Adams said...

What a fabulous necklace. I love the touches of flannel from the upcycled shirt, and what they represent. And your post is beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Great work with colors outside your comfort zone. The necklace is beautiful and infused with so much meaning. Thanks for sharing.

Works From The Attic by Linda said...

It is beautiful and such a wonderful use of colors associated with Autism Awareness.

Chris said...

I think this piece borders on brilliance!!! You have captured the unique spirit and challenge of autism in a beautifully hopeful way. Your work is a blessing . . . bravo!!!

Chris said...

I think this piece borders on brilliance!!! You have captured the unique spirit and challenge of autism in a beautifully hopeful way. Your work is a blessing . . . bravo!!!

Brittany Kuhlman, COC, CPC, CCC said...

Your design is beautiful and is such a lovely tribute to your cause. Thank you for sharing. ♥

elisabeth said...

Wow! Love the colors and the touch of plaid!

Lupe Meter said...

Awesome design and wonderful post!!

Bijoux Gems Joy said...

A beautiful, colourful design that brings your cause to the forefront. You are so right about the reach of autism.

Kim said...

This is a fabulous necklace. I have a friend whose son has Autism, thank you for drawing awareness to it.

Anonymous said...

I love your bright and beautiful necklace! My youngest grandson is in the process of being assessed for ASD, most likely Asperger's - so autism is definitely touching our lives too.

Janine (Esfera Jewelry) said...

Thank you for creating awareness for autism. I love the meaning of each part of your necklace.

Rebecca said...

What a fantastic piece! I love the story it tells, and how you've put so much thought into each element.

SoulsFireDesigns said...

What a beautiful and utterly meaningful necklace you have created! Thank you for sharing with us, it's just wonderful.

Liz said...

Thanks, Jean.

Liz said...

Thanks, Rebecca!

Liz said...

Thank you , Janine

Liz said...

Thank you, Chris.

Liz said...

Thank you, Tammy.

Liz said...

Thank you.

Liz said...

Thank you!

Liz said...

Thank you

Liz said...

Thank you.

Liz said...

Thank you.

Liz said...

Thank you. Good luck with your grandson. You just got to unlock the gift. It is there:)

Liz said...

Thank you.

Liz said...

Thank you.

Charlie said...

Beautiful piece! It is very vibrant! You put it together flawlessly.

Anonymous said...

What a great piece! Autism is such a mysterious thing. So many of us know just a tiny bit about it because of a friend but have no idea of the struggles and challenges.

Unknown said...

A beautiful piece for a beautiful sentiment. Thank you so much for joining in and supporting this cause - it's such an important thing to be patient and loving in this case. We might not always understand an autistic person, but what people often forget is that they probably have a very hard time understanding us, too.

Lori Anderson said...

Oh I love that. Zack is on the spectrum and he was asking if I could do one for him. Now I now how (he wants to hang it in his locker.)

Thanks for sharing your story, and your jewelry!

Kepi said...

Wow that is so beautiful, my beautiful niece has two austic children and I understand all that goes with it. What an awesome tribute. Such a great design for such a worthwhile cause!